One Refuge
by TheRealAbbey
Summary: After the SeaQuest is badly damaged and escape pods are sent for help, Commander Ford must take command of a small group of crewmembers in order to rescue the ship and her Captain.
1. CHAPTER ONE

APOLOGIES FOR STARTING A NEW STORY BEFORE I FINISHED THE OTHER ONE...   
  
ONE REFUGE  
  
After the SeaQuest is badly damaged and escape pods are sent for help, Commander Ford must take command of a small group of crewmembers in order to rescue the ship and her Captain. ELF  
  
Crewmembers rushed to their stations as havoc on the large submarine drew the entire ship into the emergency.  
  
Captain Hudson stumbled onto the bridge as another blast rocked the SeaQuest.  
  
"Lieutenant?" he called out, addressing O'Neill.  
  
"Sir, it looks like we're being fired at by another UEO vessel," Tim O'Neill told him with confusion.  
  
"That's impossible," Hudson reasoned, "Have you tried to contact them?"  
  
"Yes sir, they're not responding."  
  
"Sir, they would have to know," Commander Ford stated from where he sat on the bridge, "SeaQuest is the fleets largest ship."  
  
"I'm well aware of that, Commander," Hudson turned to Piccolo, "Power up weapons."  
  
Piccolo nodded and went to work at his station.  
  
"Sir I don't know if the weapons are going to be much use to us," Ensign Wolenczak called out from his station.  
  
"And why is that, Ensign?" Hudson asked frustrated.  
  
"They targeted the main release ballasts first, sir. Our weapons are badly damaged."  
  
"So we're sitting ducks," Piccolo commented.  
  
"SeaQuest is a weapon itself, Tony," Commander Ford told him.  
  
"Try torpedoes anyway," Hudson ordered.  
  
Piccolo worked feverishly at his consul then turned to Hudson and shook his head, "Wolenczak?" Hudson asked.  
  
"No response, sir," the teenager advised him.  
  
Another blast rocked the SeaQuest and the power began to ebb.   
  
"I don't believe this," Commander Ford whispered to himself.  
  
"Sir, we're surrounded!" Henderson called out urgently.  
  
"By what?" Hudson yelled back.  
  
"More hostile UEO vessels, sir."  
  
"Are you certain they're UEO?" Hudson asked.  
  
"The vessels are certainly UEO," Commander Ford told him, "They could have been stolen."  
  
"There's no time for that now," Hudson said, "Fredricks,"  
  
Fredricks came forward as though she had been waiting to be called, "I'm on my way, sir."  
  
"Take Mcormac and Alderton with you," Hudson ordered.  
  
"Sir, we're starting to take on water!" Lucas cried out, "Decks E7 and through to D4."  
  
"Damn," Commander Ford swore silently.  
  
"Commander order off the escape pods."  
  
Ford nodded and immediately announced for the majority of the crew to abandon ship.  
  
"Decks closed off sir," Lucas told Hudson.  
  
"Can we stay afloat?"   
  
"Barely, sir."  
  
The bridge crew watched as the first of the escape pods left the SeaQuest. To their horror, they exploded into balls of fire as the rebel ships picked them off one by one.  
  
"What the hell?!" Hudson gasped.  
  
"Stop the launches!" Hudson screamed, "Where's Friedricks?"  
  
"Not on radar, sir," Lucas said, shaking his head.  
  
Henderson swallowed weakly as she made her next announcement, "That was four escape pods, sir."  
  
"That's at least sixty people," Commander said, horrified, "Over half the crew."  
  
Hudson closed his eyes in frustration.  
  
"More torpedoes, sir. Middle hull," Lucas announced urgently.  
  
"Take the ship down to the bottom," Commander Ford ordered navigation.  
  
The crew just looked at him, "You heard him," Hudson said, "Right to the bottom."  
  
SeaQuest began its decent through the deep blue water. Three torpedoes shot over the top of the large ship, missing their target.  
  
"Torpedoes one, two and three missed us, sir," Lucas informed the crew, "Four and five headed our way."  
  
"Brace for impact!" Commander called.  
  
The two torpedoes hit the SeaQuest right in its middle. The SeaQuest shook more heavily that it had before and many crew were tossed from their seats.  
  
The lights flickered again and this time remained off for good. The emergency lights flicked on to dimly light the dark ship.  
  
"Sir, we've lost communications," someone called to Hudson.  
  
Hudson noticed a few people had been tossed from their seats and were groaning in pain or lying still, "Do we have access to medbay?"  
  
"Possibly, sir," Lucas told him, "But without being able to get a full damage report it may be pretty dangerous getting down there."  
  
"Alright," Hudson said, "Bring them up here. Access them via PAL."  
  
Hudson then turned to the rest of the bridge crew, "Power down," he ordered.  
  
The hum of the engines began to slow as the ship was powered down.  
  
"Sir, won't they still be able to find us?" Henderson asked.  
  
"Not for a while Lieutenant," Hudson said.  
  
The bridge became very silent as the crew tried to absorb what had just happened to them.   
  
It wasn't long before Perry and the remaining medical staff made their way onto the bridge. They carried as many medical supplies with them as they could.  
  
Hudson looked at her skeptically, "Doctor?"  
  
"Sir, medical has been virtually destroyed. We've lost some of our own. There's no point in bringing the injured down there."  
  
Hudson sighed, "I guess we'll have to camp out on the bridge."  
  
"We need to contact UEO headquarters," Hudson said, "Find out what's going on."  
  
"How are we going to do that?" Piccolo asked, "We have no communications."  
  
"Henderson," Hudson turned to her, "How many escape pods did we eject?"  
  
"Just the four, sir. All destroyed."  
  
Hudson nodded, "That means we have plenty left."  
  
Commander Ford realised what he was thinking, "Sir?"  
  
"Commander, we going to need to send off another escape pod for help."  
  
"What if they don't make it?" Lucas asked, "The ships that attacked us are still out there."  
  
"How long until life support cuts out?" Hudson asked him.  
  
"About 48 hours sir," Lucas told him.  
  
"We send off another if they aren't back in twelve hours," Hudson decided.  
  
"And if the second pod doesn't make it either?" another crewmember asked.  
  
"Whoever is looking for us would have found us by then," Hudson said.  
  
"Any volunteers for the first group?" Hudson asked.  
  
The bridge became very silent.  
  
"I'll lead the first lot out, sir," Commander Ford said as he nodded his head.  
  
"I'll go too, sir," Piccolo offered.  
  
"I'll go," Lucas piped up after.   
  
"Me too," Henderson said.  
  
"Yeah me too," O'Neill said.  
  
"Count me in," Seaman Wade stepped forward.  
  
Hudson looked at them all skeptically. He wasn't too keen on sending all of his best officers off straight away. But then again he knew he could count on them, and the rest of the crew were all injured or dead.   
  
Hudson nodded, "We're all dead anyway."  
  
"Can I go too, sir?" a gentle voice asked from behind him.  
  
Hudson turned to find Dagwood standing there sheepishly.  
  
"We might need you here, Dagwood," Hudson told him.  
  
"What for?" Lucas asked.  
  
"The medical officers might need help. We could use someone strong."  
  
"We'll be fine," Perry said, "There's really nothing that can be done here."  
  
Hudson thought for a moment, "Alright," he nodded.  
  
The crew got up slowly to head towards an awaiting shuttle.  
  
"Good luck to all of you," Hudson told them, "Be safe." 


	2. CHAPTER TWO

The shuttle made its way stealthfully through the Atlantic waters. The inside of the shuttle was dark to allow the crew to get some sleep and rotate shifts.  
  
"Where are we headed, sir?" Seaman Wade asked Commander Ford as he sat next to him on the quiet vessel.  
  
"UEO headquarters," Commander Ford told him, "That's the only place we can go. Especially since there were that many fighter ships and they were all legitimately UEO registered."   
  
"Are we almost there?" the young seaman asked, "We've been traveling for hours."  
  
"We've got a long way to go. We've had to take the long way to avoid being detected."  
  
Several lights on the consul started beeping and flashing, "Sir, we have a problem here!" Tony Piccolo called out from the pilots seat.  
  
Commander Ford stood up and walked towards to front of the vessel, "What happened?"  
  
"I don't know, sir. It looks like we're losing power."  
  
Ford sighed worriedly just as a sleepy looking Lucas emerged from the back, "What's going on?" the boy asked them.  
  
"Something's wrong with the shuttle," Tony told him.  
  
Ford moved out of Lucas' way so he could get into the co-pilots seat. It only took Lucas a few seconds to figure out the problem.  
  
"It's the main power systems. They need a reboot."  
  
"How long will that take?" Commander asked him.  
  
"We wont be able to do it at all if we don't find somewhere to power up," Lucas said, "Where's the closest colony?"  
  
"No, that's too dangerous. We need to find out why the SeaQuest was attacked first. Until then we cant trust anybody."  
  
"There just colonists, Commander," Lucas gave him a crooked grin, "I doubt they'd be conspiring against us."  
  
Lucas' last comment came across very sarcastic. Ford ignored what he had decided was Lucas' immaturity and addressed the situation, "Where is the nearest colony, Piccolo?"  
  
"About two minutes, sir."  
  
"Lucas, can we hold out that long?"  
  
"Yes, definitely," Lucas responded.  
  
"Alright," Commander Ford ordered, "Inform them that we need to stop there for repairs. We'll need to be out of there as soon as possible."  
  
"Yes sir," Lucas answered him.  
  
***  
  
After the crew had stopped at the colony for the necessary repairs, those who were not needed to help with the shuttle had left the shuttle to stretch their legs.  
  
"Man, I'm starving," Tony exclaimed, "Is there anything to eat around here?"  
  
"I'm hungry too," Dagwood agreed.  
  
"I saw some food places back there," Lonie offered.  
  
"Oh great," Tony said as he turned back toward her, "Anyone coming?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry," Wade said.  
  
"I'm not really but I'll go with you anyway," Henderson said as she turned back towards them.  
  
The four began walking.  
  
"Commander, are you coming?" Tony called out to Ford. The group stopped to wait for him.  
  
"No it's okay," Jonathan said as he stayed looking around.  
  
"Jonathan, you should eat something," Henderson told him.  
  
"I just want to get out of here as soon as possible," Ford told them, not looking around.  
  
The other's shrugged and continued on their way.  
  
Ford watched O'Neill as he tried to talk to some of colonists about how long they would be staying. Ford was becoming increasingly concerned about the aggressive body language that was being used.  
  
Ford took a few steps toward them to see what was going on. However, just as he did, the colonists stalked away and O'Neill turned back and headed toward him.  
  
As he approached, the look on O'Neill's face said that they should be concerned, "Apparently there were some UEO registered vehicles headed this way, the same ones that attacked the SeaQuest," O'Neill told him quietly as he got closer to Ford, "They offered to call on them so we could get a lift and I refused. Now they're very suspicious. They don't trust us."  
  
"Did you tell them what happened?" Ford asked him.  
  
"I didn't think it was a very likely story," Tim said.  
  
"No, you're right," Jonathan began.  
  
He was cut off as he noticed that the two of them where slowly being surrounded by armed colonists.  
  
"Ummm, Jonathan?" Tim wasn't sure how to respond.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Jonathan said as he grabbed Tim's arm and the two power walked towards the food court.  
  
"Where are we going?" Tim asked him as the two began to walk faster.  
  
"To get the others and then we're getting the hell out of here," Jonathan told him, "Let's just hope Lucas has been able to work some of his magic."  
  
Jonathan spotted his crew and ran over to them, hailing them at the same time.  
  
"Come on we gotta go," Jonathan said as he ran up closer to them.  
  
"Jonathan?" Henderson asked worriedly.  
  
"They think we're someone we're not," Jonathan explained.  
  
The others needed no more invitations. They all immediately jumped up and made their way towards the docking bay.  
  
The SeaQuest crew ran towards their awaiting shuttle while the colonists hotly pursued them.  
  
"Why can't they see we're not Macronesian?" Seaman Wade asked Commander Ford in frustration.  
  
"They're afraid," the Commander panted, "There's no time for that now. Come on."  
  
One by one, the crew ran into the shuttle bay. Piccolo stayed back near the large bay doors to close them. They watched the doors closed just as the front of the mob appeared.  
  
Henderson and O'Neill jumped over the meter high metal wall that separated the docking bay from the incoming shuttles followed by Ford, Wade, and Dagwood.   
  
"Lucas," O'Neill asked, "Have you got the repairs ready yet?"  
  
Lucas looked around from his work at the front of the shuttle, "Yeah, we just need to connect the power."   
  
Lucas advanced forward to address the rest of the crew who were heading into the shuttle, "We can use some of the power from the colony to start her up. Then she'll run fine for a few hours. By that time the backup systems should be working."  
  
Ford looked concerned, "Well… how are we going to do that?"  
  
Lucas pointed up at a small panel in the roof just above the wall that separated them from the shuttle doors, "We just need to rewire that. I've already connected it up."  
  
Ford turned around to Wade who was still on the wall, looking at the panel, "Wade, didn't you major in engineering?  
  
Wade looked at Ford, "Yeah, I think I know what I'm doing."   
  
You'll be able to reach it from where you're standing on the wall there," Lucas told him, "I'll get her started up."  
  
Wade stood slowly and began to look at the panel.  
  
"And hurry up!" the Commander ordered as he turned back around, "It's only a matter of time before they get through that door."  
  
Ford turned and moved passed Lucas, who was watching Wade carefully, before heading into the shuttle, "Get yourselves strapped in. We're almost ready to go."  
  
He then turned back to Lucas, "You too Lucas."  
  
Lucas moved his head around to acknowledge the Commander absent-mindedly, then turned it back, "Wade!" he called, "How's it going up there?"  
  
Ford's eyes narrowed in concern and he walked back around to poke his head out of the shuttle.  
  
Wade's panicked voice responded, "I can't get it together! They're coming through!"  
  
The shuttle bay doors could be seen being pried open as the mob forced their way towards the SeaQuest crew. In a panic Wade snapped a small piece of plastic used to hold the wiring together.  
  
Lucas darted forwards and jumped up onto the small platform. Wade gladly made room for him and jumped down.  
  
"Get into the shuttle!" Ford said urgently, giving him an irritable shove.  
  
Lucas fumbled with the piece that Wade had broken up and carefully fitted it back into the wiring. His brow furrowed slightly in concentration as he calmly and carefully twisted the wires around to where they were suppose to be.   
  
Once it was programmed properly he turned his head slightly, addressing Commander Ford, "Check the power."  
  
Before Ford could respond to Lucas, Tony's voice called out from inside the shuttle, "Powered up! We're ready to go!"  
  
Ford looked up towards the top of the shuttle bay doors and, to his horror, saw they had begun to open almost enough for people to start filing through.  
  
"Lucas get down from there, come on!"  
  
Without panicking, Lucas hurriedly pushed the wires back up into the panel so they didn't come lose before the shuttle could get clear. It was difficult without the protective plastic. He snapped the lid shut just as several colonists shoved their way through the opening shuttle doors.  
  
Commander stepped out of the shuttle to help. Just as Lucas turned to step down, one of the colonists raised a large crossbow and fired. The thick piece of sharp metal violently drove itself into Lucas side. Lucas cried out in pain. The energy drained from his legs and he fell backward.  
  
"Lucas!" Commander cried out in horror.  
  
Lucas fell heavily to the ground, landing hard on his left shoulder. He grunted again and gritted his teeth as his shoulder hit the floor. Ford didn't have to run far to get to him. He grabbed a hold of the young officer by the underarms and quickly dragged him inside the shuttle, ignoring his cry of pain.  
  
The shuttle doors closed just as one of the colonists jumped over the wall and ran toward it.  
  
Ford carefully placed Lucas on the floor of the shuttle as the boy continued to give sharp cries of pain.  
  
Henderson unstrapped herself from her seat and ran toward them, "Oh God," she said kneeling next to Lucas. O'Neill stayed in his seat but leaned forward to assess Lucas' condition, the colour draining from his face. Wade swallowed heavily.  
  
"We're clear of the colony, sir!" Piccolo told them before turning his head back from piloting the shuttle, "Commander!" he asked, "What happened to him?"  
  
"Crossbow," Jonathan told him as he tried to work out how to position Lucas so he could assess the injury, "Keep an eye out, Mr Piccolo," he ordered Tony.   
  
Henderson moved over to Lucas' head and used both her hands to stroke his hair back off his face, "Lucas?" she asked.  
  
Lucas, in a great deal of pain, gritted his teeth as he tried to put on a brave façade for her, "I'll be okay," he said. Then as a wave of pain ran through him he arched his back and squeezed his eyes shut. His soft forehead furrowed and he pushed his eyebrows together tightly. Henderson bit her lip and continued stroking his hair.  
  
"It just hurts," he managed with difficulty.  
  
"You'll be okay, Lucas," Ford assured him gently.  
  
"What's a crossbow?" Dagwood asked Tim quietly.  
  
"It's used to shoot arrows, Dagwood," Tim explained weakly, gripping his seatbelt.  
  
Commander gave a loud sigh, "I think his shoulder's been dislocated too," he turned to Tim, "Do we have any pain medication in the med kit?"  
  
O'Neill fumble with his seatbelt to get up, "I-I'll check," he stuttered.  
  
Wade just sat quietly looking very pale.  
  
Piccolo turned his head from piloting the shuttle, "How's he doing?"  
  
"He's gunna be alright," Ford assured him.  
  
Tony relaxed a little, knowing Lucas was in good hands but couldn't shake the ill feeling in his stomach.  
  
Ford sighed again, "We gotta get this out."  
  
"No," Lucas said quickly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Lucas. I'll do it as fast as I can okay."  
  
"Nooo," Lucas whined.  
  
O'Neill moved forward with the med-kit to kneel next to Lucas along with Ford and Henderson, "It's alright, Lucas," he said gently, "We've got some painkillers in here okay?"  
  
"Why can't I have them now?" Lucas asked innocently. Commander Ford knew that the situation was extremely upsetting but could have sworn that Lucas' voice was a few octaves higher than usual.  
  
"They take too long to work," Ford looked up at Henderson, "Can you hold him?" Henderson nodded at him.   
  
"I'll help too," O'Neill offered, wrapping his arms around Lucas' chest as Henderson held his shoulders tightly.  
  
"Okay, on the count of three," Ford said. Lucas shook his head, grinning as much as the pain would allow, "You won't be doing it on three, will you?"  
  
Commander Ford gave Lucas a short smile then turned his head away so he wasn't looking at him. The Commander grabbed the edge of the arrow tightly and gave it a fierce shove. Lucas jerked violently and gave a shrill scream of pain.  
  
Wade leaned forward and put his head in his hands.  
  
Not wanting to drag it out, Ford shoved again before Lucas could recover, "Argggh!" Lucas cried out in agony, twisting his body to his right in an effort the get away from the pain.  
  
Henderson and O'Neill struggled to keep him from writhing too much. Tony gripped the edge of the consul tightly and swallowed heavily, keeping his eyes focused in front of him.  
  
"Okay, its nearly over," Ford said as he gave the arrow one last push, ripping it out of Lucas' back to create an exit wound.  
  
This time Lucas groaned before he passed out. The shuttle crew sat still in dead silence for a few moments.  
  
"Okay," Ford's voice shook, "Lonnie, can you patch him up?" Henderson nodded weakly. O'Neill pulled his arms out from around Lucas and patted the unconscious teenager affectionately.  
  
O'Neill turned to find Dagwood sitting near them with tears running down his face.   
  
"Dagwood, he's okay now." O'Neill assured him.  
  
"Why did you have to hurt Lucas?" Dagwood asked. O'Neill could see that he trusted his friends which is why he didn't step in, but hadn't understood why the pain had be inflicted.  
  
"We were trying to help him, Dagwood," Tim put his hand on Dagwood's arm. Dagwood looked at him with trust and kindness and nodded quietly.  
  
Wade stood up and walked over to Commander Ford, who was getting some rags from the medkit to wipe the blood off his hands, "Commander, I'm sorry. I stuffed up. This is all my fault."  
  
Ford sighed angrily, "Wade, not now."  
  
"But sir," Wade began.  
  
Ford turned around swiftly to face him, "No," he said firmly, putting his hand up, "You need to tell me if you don't think you can do something. And you have to learn not to panic," the Commander said carefully but angrily.  
  
Wade nodded then went to speak. Ford put his hand up, "Not another word."   
  
"Jonathan?" Henderson called from where she was with Lucas. She had dragged him over and somehow managed to get him onto a small mattress and covered him with a few blankets. She was just lifting up the clothing that covered the wound and was trying to clean it.  
  
"What is it?" Ford walked over to her.  
  
"I think there was something on that arrow," she said seriously.  
  
Ford looked at her, concerned, "What do you mean 'something'?"  
  
"Something harmful. Like poison."  
  
O'Neill looked around quickly from where he was with Dagwood.  
  
Piccilo snapped his head to the side, "Oh shit," he swore quietly but angrily, "Wade!" he called, "Get over here."  
  
Wade moved over hesitantly. Tony got up and pushed him to the front, "Pilot," he ordered. Wade nodded and jumped into the pilot's seat.  
  
"Poison?" Commander hissed, "Do you know what type of poison?"  
  
Henderson's pretty face creased into a thoughtful look, "No. He needs to get to a hospital."  
  
"How the hell are we meant to get him to a hospital?" Ford had begun to raise his voice.  
  
"We-we'll have to drop him off somewhere," Piccolo walked forward, "So someone can get him to a hospital."  
  
"He can't go to hospital," Ford said angrily. He wiped his hands over his face in frustration. "We're all sitting ducks right now. He'll be found. We can't get him to hospital until this mess is over."  
  
"He won't make it," Henderson said gently.  
  
"Can't we get him to someone that will take care of him?" Tim suggested, "Someone with access to resources who can nurse him and protect him themselves."  
  
Ford turned to Tim, "Tim, first of all we need someone close by. Our mission is to get to the right people so they can get help to the SeaQuest. We're already behind with that."  
  
He paused and sighed again, "And secondly, it needs to be someone we can trust," Ford looked at them, "We don't know anyone like that."  
  
"Sure we do," Piccolo piped up, "How close is Bridger's Island?"  
  
Everyone looked at Tony in surprise. Of course, no one could believe they hadn't thought of it. Henderson gave a small sigh of relief, "Can't be far," she said.  
  
"Bridger wont let anything happen to Lucas," Tim said.  
  
"Of course," Ford said with relief, "I didn't think of that." He turned to the Piccilo, "Get back in the pilots seat. Set a course for Bridger's Island." 


	3. CHAPTER THREE

***  
  
It was dark and raining by the time the shuttle reached the beach of Nathan Bridger's small island. Tony had lowered the throttle just as the shuttle had set itself on the sand. The large door opened upward and Jonathan Ford stepped towards the exit.  
  
He turned around to address his crew, "I'll go let Nathan know what's happened and then we'll bring Lucas up to the house," Jonathan said to them, "We don't want him to get more of a shock than he's already going to get." They all nodded.  
  
Lonnie looked at Lucas who was lying unconscious on the make shift mattress. His complexion pasty white and his body already wet from perspiration, Lucas shook even as he slept. Lucas had been slipping in and out of consciousness ever since they had removed the arrow. He would wake shivering violently with hallucinations and excessive adrenalin. At least one of them had to stay with him to make sure he didn't hurt himself with his frantic tossing and jerking.  
  
Jonathan was concerned about whether or not they had done the right thing in torturing Lucas just to remove the offending arrow. Lonnie had assured him that he would have been much sicker had they not removed it, as the poison would have had more of a chance to work. Jonathan hoped that Nathan would be just as understanding when they told him. Concern for both Nathan's reaction and Lucas' condition worried him as he trudged up the sand towards the house.  
  
He slowed down as he came closer and, witnessing some movement behind the curtains inside, he bravely made his way over to his ex-Captain's door and knocked.  
  
There was a rustling inside as someone fumbled with the door. It vaguely occurred to Jonathan that it might be later than he thought, as he had no idea what time it was.  
  
Jonathan was greeted with the almost intimidating look of Nathan Bridger as the man opened the door to someone whom he thought was a complete stranger, disturbing his evening for what was likely to be an absurd reason. Nathan's near threatening look was replaced with shock, surprise, and then confusion as he recognised the man at the door.  
  
"Jonathan!" Nathan greeted in his originally pleased response. He then looked at Jonathan's worried and tired features and realised how strange it was that Jonathan Ford would come, alone, knocking on his door at this time of the month, let alone this time in the evening.  
  
"What is it? What's happened?" Nathan asked with concern.  
  
"Nathan, the SeaQuest was attacked. We identified our attackers as UEO. We have no idea why or what has happened, but we need to get to UEO headquarters in person and find out what is going on so we can salvage what is left of the SeaQuest and the crew."  
  
Jonathan obviously wasn't finished but Bridger cut him off anyway, "Oh my God," he said, almost disbelieving. He stuttered for some explanation of his own but he couldn't find anything, "Wh… Jonathan it's raining you should come in," he said as he opened the door more to allow for Jonathan to step inside, "Oh," he continued before Jonathan could respond, "Are you alone?"  
  
"No, Hudson sent a group of us to make our way to headquarters. But… Nathan, there's been an injury. It's Lucas. We can't get him to a hospital anywhere in UEO territory until we find out why the SeaQuest was targeted. Lucas doesn't have that long."  
  
Bridger looked horrified, "Lucas? What happened to him? Where is he?" Nathan walked out to where Jonathan was in fearful anticipation.  
  
"He's at the shuttle," Jonathan said as the two began walking quickly, "We're going to bring him up if you can look after him." The two men's voices shook with fear and vibration from their feet hitting the sand heavily as they hurried towards the open shuttle.  
  
"Of course I can look after him!" Nathan exclaimed, "God, I hope so."   
  
"He's hurt badly and he's very sick," Jonathan warned Bridger as the older man walked into the shuttle ahead of him.  
  
Bridger briefly acknowledged Lonnie and Tim, who were still sitting beside Lucas where he lay on the mattress, before couching quickly next to Lucas. Alarm was written all over Nathan's quickly ageing facial features, "Oh my God," he said, as he reached out to touch Lucas' face. Feeling the warmth there, he snapped his head up to address whoever was closest, "He has a fever," he said urgently.  
  
"He was poisoned," Lonnie told him.  
  
"What? How do you know?" Nathan asked her.  
  
"He's hurt. Here," Lonnie reached passed Bridger to lift Lucas' blood soaked uniform shirt and t-shirt.  
  
"Oh God," Bridger breathed quietly at the hideous colour of Lucas' wound, "What the hell happened?"  
  
"He was shot," Jonathan explained from behind him, "With a metal arrow of some kind."  
  
"You can see that the skin around the wound has taken on a funny colour," Lonnie told him, "Its defiantly poison but I have no idea what type."  
  
"Will it kill him?" Bridger asked her.  
  
"I'm hoping that it will leave his system once he has the strength to fight the infection. But don't think he's going to be strong enough without some antibiotics."  
  
"So," Nathan gasped out, "You need me to nurse him while you all complete your mission."  
  
"That's right," Tim confirmed.  
  
Bridger turned around to Jonathan, "Do you still have that arrow?"  
  
Jonathan hesitated for a few moments and then nodded, turning to retrieve the nasty piece of metal from where they had put it.  
  
Jonathan presented the weapon to Bridger and the ex-Captain stood up to take a look. Bridger tried to stay professional but Jonathan could tell that it upset him to see the sharp bladed looking end.  
  
"It looks painful," Nathan commented as he looked carefully at the bluish tint the blood seemed to have taken on as it mixed with the poison.  
  
"I'm sure it was," Jonathan said.  
  
"How did you get this out of him?" Nathan asked.  
  
"The old-fashioned way," Ford told him gently but simply.  
  
Nathan nodded but made no comment. He took the instrument from Jonathan, "I'll need this to find out what kind of poison it was."  
  
He turned back to kneel next his young friend, "We better get him into the house. I'll see if I can get him more comfortable."  
  
Lucas stirred as Tony moved passed Lonnie and carefully took Lucas' upper body and Tim took his legs. They stopped moving him for a few moments until they realised he was still unconscious and then started to take him out of the shuttle. Nathan walked along with then to make sure that Lucas stayed comfortable even though he was being carried. Wade hung back out of the way, not wanting to cause any more trouble.  
  
As they left the shuttle Lonnie gave Lucas a quick kiss on the forehead and Dagwood followed suit by stroking his hand across Lucas' hair as they walked passed. Jonathan watched as the four of them left the shuttle and placed a comradely hand on Wade's shoulders to show that he had noticed his effort to stay out of the way.  
  
Tony and Tim carried Lucas into Nathan Bridger's living room where Bridger indicated for them the place him on the couch in front of the fire. Nathan collected a pillow and blanket, while they set Lucas on the couch and then he carefully set Lucas up so that he could be warmer and more comfortable despite his condition.  
  
He then turned to Tony and Tim, "I'll take of him," he assured them, "Thank you."  
  
Tony nodded and began to make his way out. Tim hesitated for a few moments, and then followed Tony out of Bridger's house quietly.  
  
Nathan followed them to the front door and watched the two walk back to the shuttle. Once he saw that it was powering up, he nodded at Jonathan, who was still visible to him, before the hatched door closed down and the shuttle came to life and slipped back under the waves.  
  
Nathan quietly shut his front door and turned back to the sick and injured boy on his couch. 


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

HI PEOPLE. THANKS FOR READING MY WORKS OF FANFICTION. JUST A FEW APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE..  
  
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE WIP STORIES I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SURE ABOUT BEFORE I STARTED POSTING... AND MAYBE SHOULDNT HAVE POSTED AT ALL. AT LEAST, I SHOULD HAVE WAITED 'TIL IT WAS FINISHED. THIS SOUGHT OF CONFUSION ABOUT A STORY I'VE ALREADY STARTED NEVER HAPPENS TO ME... OKAY SO I MOSTLY WRITE ARTICLES AND ESSAYS FOR ASSESSMENT AT UNIVERSITY AS OPPOSED TO STORIES.. BUT STILL. I DO APOLOGISE. THIS FIC DOES ACTUALLY HAVE A STORYLINE NOW (LOL!).. I HOPE YOU CAN ENJOY READING..  
  
Part Four  
  
McGath sat back in his chair as he mentally tried to ease his thumping pulse, "How the hell did this happen?" he whispered rhetorically.  
  
Admiral Noyce answered anyway, "Obviously, we have a mole. Or a number of them by the looks of it."  
  
The Secretary-General looked at the Admiral sitting across from him, "Do we know of anyone we can trust?"  
  
Noyce sighed, "I believe we can trust most UEO veterans. It's the newer people we've got to worry about."  
  
McGath narrowed his eyes, "Are you sure?"  
  
"Something like turning half the UEO fleet against each other takes something pretty big. Either someone has stirred something up pretty badly..."  
  
McGath finished his sentence, "Or they were never UEO in the first place,"  
  
"That's right,"   
  
"Then who the hell are they?"  
  
"We need to get a hold of them to find out," Noyce told him.  
  
"And to do that we need to pull up nearly every record available. Find out who fired on whom. Weed out who the liars are,"  
  
"And to do that," Noyce continued, "We need someone whom we can trust isn't falsifying anything."  
  
McGath leaned forward, "How many people are aware of how serious this situation is?"  
  
"Just the two of us," Noyce replied. McGath looked surprised, "The UEO is nearing possible collapse. I don't think we should make it public news."  
  
McGath nodded, "Well no, but we should at least inform most of the senior UEO executives,"  
  
"We can't trust all of them either,"  
  
McGath sighed again loudly and passed a hand across his face, "This is intelligence service stuff. We need Section Seven."  
  
"We'll propose the involvement of Section Seven at a senior board meeting," Noyce assured him, "Who else can we trust?"  
  
McGath looked at him ironically, "Most of the senior crew of the SeaQuest,"  
  
"Who are missing," Noyce looked at him.  
  
McGath shut his eyes, "And likely destroyed,"  
  
Admiral Noyce looked at him with something that resembled disgust, "Give your men more faith, McGath."  
  
McGath shook his head, "I would like to, but we can't protect the SeaQuest, and how can they protect themselves if they don't know who their enemies are?"  
  
The Admiral pursed his lips, "Is that all?"  
  
"I would say, Nathan Bridger," McGath said.  
  
Noyce nodded, "I would agree. But he's retired. He's not likely to be able to help us."  
  
"Bill," McGath said seriously, "This is a possible overthrow of the UEO!"  
  
Noyce stood up, irritably, "Don't be so Goddamned negative," he cursed, "And I doubt Nathan would be very pleased if we drew him into something like this,"  
  
"Being who he is he is already going to be drawn into it - by the wrong people," McGath argued, "He's likely to need our protection."  
  
Noyce became silent, contemplating this. McGath continued, "And if the SeaQuest hasn't just disappeared this time, or even if it has, he's going to be involved in other ways anyway."  
  
***  
  
Nathan came back into the living room with a bowl of water and a wet cloth and kneeled next to Lucas.  
  
After checking Lucas' pulse and temperature, Nathan had gone about trying to get Lucas cleaned up so that he could rest in a proper bed.  
  
However, when thought about trying to get Lucas into the bed, he had realised how badly hurt Lucas was. Nathan was going to have trouble dragging Lucas towards a bed or a bath by himself without injuring him further. Especially when the young man was still unconscious.  
  
Nathan decided to leave Lucas on the couch and set up a makeshift bed for himself near the couch and the fire instead.  
  
Now, he sat beside the unconscious teenager and tried to sooth the boy so that he could rest better. The high temperature wasn't going to help, so he placed the cool cloth over the boy's forehead.  
  
He sighed shakily, afraid that Lucas was sicker than he realised. He lifted up Lucas' shirt to look at the wound. Lonie had already done a good job of cleaning it, and most of the poison was already in Lucas' system. So there was really no point in cleaning the wound. He supposed he should just cover it to stop the bleeding. He sighed again. He needed to talk to a doctor.  
  
His frantic thoughts were interrupted with a gentle beeping from behind him. He had set the vidlink communicator on a quieter tone after he put Michael to bed so that it didn't disturb him. He took one more look at Lucas and then got up to retrieve it.  
  
Just as he reached over to press the button and accept the call, Lucas made a noise. He turned quickly to find Lucas tossing and shaking. He ran over to him and pulled held him tightly to ease the shaking. It was then that he realised the teenager was convulsing. He held him tighter while Lucas' muscles cramped. Lucas' breathing came out in gasps, as the boy struggled with the pain.  
  
After what felt to Nathan like an eternity, Lucas stopped shaking so violently. Nathan pulled back to look at him and realised he was conscious. At some point during the drama, the vidlink had stopped, started again, and then stopped again. Nathan figured that if it was that important they would probably call back.  
  
Lucas' brilliant blue eyes looked partially glazed over from the pain, but he seemed somewhat coherent, although confused, "Ca-Captain?"  
  
Nathan nodded, "Your with me, on my island. Do you remember what happened, Lucas?"  
  
Lucas scrunched up his face, trying to remember, "I was shot with something.." he croaked weakly, "The SeaQuest.. Oh my God, where are the Commander.."  
  
Nathan put a hand on his chest to calm him, "It's okay. They're okay, they aren't here, Lucas,"  
  
Lucas looked at him confused, "Where are we?"  
  
"We're at my place. In my house."  
  
Lucas absorbed the information without much reaction and swallowed weakly, "Oh okay," The boy closed his eyes in pain.  
  
Nathan passed a hand across his head again, "You try to sleep, son. I'll get you some help, okay?"  
  
Nathan stood up and looked towards the vidlink. Suddenly, he had an idea. Relief passed through him at the thought of her. He knew a doctor he could trust. 


	5. CHAPTER FIVE

Sorry about leaving this for so long.. It hasn't died I swear :)  
  
Part Five  
  
Jonathan Ford breathed as sigh of relief as his consul showed him they were in close range of UEO headquarters.  
  
"Is there anyone following us, Tony?"  
  
Tony pushed a few buttons in his chair next to the Commander, "No, sir. It looks like we're clear."  
  
The Commander turned around and smiled reassuringly at the crew behind him before turning back to the front, "Okay, let's find out what the hell is going on."  
  
***  
  
Nathan waited anxiously for the vidphone to pick up. He straightened eagerly as he watched the screen flicker and a woman's face appear on the screen.  
  
Her glasses sat on the tip of her nose, as it was obvious she was working. She looked at Nathan in surprise.  
  
"Nathan Bridger?" she slowly removed the glasses from her nose.  
  
Nathan chuckled, "I haven't seen you're face in a while," he said.  
  
"I know!" she exclaimed, "I mean I've heard you're voice but I haven't seen your face in... what? Nearly eleven years!"  
  
"It's good to see you too, Kristin. You still look stunning."  
  
Kristin Westphalen rolled her eyes, "Well, thank you, Nathan, you look good too. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"  
  
Nathan felt his chest deflate. He smiled ironically. He bet Lucas hadn't told her he had signed on.  
  
"Ah, did you know Lucas signed up?"  
  
One look at her face told him that he should have put money on it. Her lips pulled into a thin line. She obviously wasn't impressed.  
  
"How on earth did that happen?" she demanded.  
  
Nathan lifted his eyebrows, "I uh, I don't know... he wanted to stay..."  
  
She sighed helplessly and flopped herself back in her chair, obviously upset, "When did this happen?"  
  
Uh oh. She obviously thought that was what the call was about. Nathan braced himself, "About three months ago."  
  
Her eyes widened in shock, "Three months! Oh my God, that would be.. straight after you got back?!"  
  
Nathan nodded.  
  
She shook her head sadly, "But.. he didn't tell me."  
  
"He didn't tell me either," he commiserated. It was true, Lucas hadn't told him. He didn't tell Kristan that that was because he hadn't spoken to Lucas between the time he left and the time he found out.  
  
"How did you find out?"  
  
"I went to SeaQuest afterwards...," he told her.  
  
"Is he happy?" she asked.  
  
Nathan didn't know how to respond. He pictured Lucas in his uniform at the launch bay. In the wardroom on SeaQuest. Speaking to him over the vidlink. Their harsh words to each other the last time they had spoken. No, Lucas had never smiled in his uniform.   
  
Kristin read his face and sighed sadly.  
  
"But, uh, that's not the reason why I'm ringing," Nathan said.  
  
Kristin leaned forward, "Why are you ringing?" she asked gently. The contrast in her voice showed off her two sides magnificently.   
  
He sighed heavily, "Well, something's happened."  
  
"What?" she demanded, her British accent thickening.  
  
"Something happened with the SeaQuest. Commander Ford brought Lucas here."  
  
"They're still protecting him even after he's signed up?" she asked with humour.  
  
"No. He was injured."  
  
Kristin felt her heart jump, "Dear God. How?"  
  
"He was hit with an arrow, or something through the abdominal region. They said it was poisoned," he sighed worriedly, "Kristin, I don't know what to do."  
  
"Oh God," she said. He watched her stand, "I'll be right there, okay? Keep him warm. Give him plenty of fluids," she ordered.  
  
"He's unconscious," he told her.  
  
"Well.. try to arouse him. How long has be been unconscious?"  
  
"Since they brought him here last night."  
  
She nodded, "That's alright. Still try to wake him up. He needs to drink."  
  
He nodded.  
  
She looked around half mumbling to herself, "We might need to put him on a drip."  
  
She looked back at Nathan, shooing him off, "Go, take care of him until I get there."  
  
Nathan nodded and turned off the vid link. He felt more relieved now. He walked over to Lucas who was shivering on the couch.  
  
He leaned down to touch his forehead, remembering that Lucas had woken briefly before. He hoped that wasn't too relevant. He looked at the clock. Kristin wasn't too far away, he could tell her when she arrived in a few hours.   
  
Lucas was still worryingly warm and he had lost a lot of fluid.  
  
"Lucas?" he whispered. Lucas seemed to stir slightly but it looked like he didn't want to wake up.  
  
He touched his shoulder and shook him slightly, calling his name again, "Lucas?"  
  
Lucas' eyes fluttered slightly and Nathan gently pushed his arm underneath the young man's shoulders and tried to ease him up.  
  
Lucas woke quickly and groaned at the pain in his abdomen, "You need to drink, kid."  
  
Lucas opened his eyes slightly, "Captain? What's going on?" Lucas whispered.  
  
"Don't you remember waking up before?"  
  
Lucas looked confused, "Before?" he croaked weakly.  
  
Nathan grabbed a pillow to prop Lucas up, "Come on, drink this." He held the cup up to Lucas' lips.  
  
Lucas sipped the water stubbornly. More than once Lucas went to lie back down and Nathan had to bring the cup back to his lips.  
  
"No," Lucas said the last time, "It hurts."  
  
"I know," Nathan told, "But you need to keep drinking."  
  
Lucas closed his eyes, "How did I get here?"  
  
Nathan took the cup away, realising that he had lost, "Commander Ford brought you here last night."  
  
"Are they okay?" Lucas asked, waking up a bit more.  
  
Nathan sighed, "They looked okay. A bit worried about you though."  
  
Lucas frowned, "I feel horrible. Am I meant to feel like this?"  
  
"You were poisoned," Nathan told him.  
  
Lucas looked frightened, "What's going to happen to me?"  
  
"You'll be fine. A doctor's coming."  
  
"Which Doctor?" Lucas slurred.  
  
"A doctor we can trust," Nathan answered stubbornly.  
  
"Will he make the pain go away?" Lucas asked as he closed his eyes again.  
  
"She'll make you more comfortable," Nathan stroked Lucas' hair, watching his pale face with concern.  
  
"She.." Lucas whispered. But he didn't say anything more. When Nathan thought Lucas was asleep, he took Lucas' hand in his, only to be surprised to feel Lucas squeeze back.  
  
"You're going to be okay," Nathan whispered.  
  
***  
  
Once the SeaQuest crew had made it into UEO headquarters they had been met by the Secretary-General. They were surprised to know that McGath was already aware of what had happened to SeaQuest.  
  
"So what's going on, sir?" Commander Ford asked him.  
  
"I think you should all get changed and fed first," McGath told him.  
  
Piccolo looked to agree, but Commander Ford was keen to get on with business, "We're fine, sir," he said.  
  
"Some one will collect you in half an hour for a de-briefing," McGath ordered and then left.  
  
Commander Ford clenched his teeth as he watched the Secretary-General leave.  
  
A UEO Lieutenant stepped forward to lead them to the comfort rooms. Piccolo bounded out in front of the Commander, adding to his irritation. The others took his lack of disagreement to be approval and moved on after Tony.  
  
***  
  
Bridger looked up sharply as the he heard a knock on the door. He took a quick glance at the door and got up quickly.  
  
He had known it would be Kristin at the door. But her actual presence took his breath away.  
  
"Kristin," he breathed, relief and emotion sweeping through him.  
  
Her face had been lined with worry and seriousness but it melted away for the briefest of moments as she saw a man who had been in her thoughts and prayers for the last twelve years.  
  
She smiled, "Hello Nathan."  
  
Her expression changed as she watched him just stand there, "Are you going to let me in?" she asked teasingly.  
  
"Oh um, yes," Nathan pulled open the door and waved for her to enter.  
  
"I've got quite of lot of stuff with me," she said as she handed him some luggage.  
  
Nathan grabbed the big black suitcase looking boxes and hauled them over onto the floor.  
  
"Where is he?" she asked officially as she came in, pushing the front door closed behind her.  
  
"Oh he's just over here," Nathan bounced around to the front of the couch quickly.  
  
He looked at her, waiting for her to come around to them. From where she was standing at the front door she could see the couch, but not who was on it, as it was facing away from the door.  
  
She walked around quickly, fiddling with the small emergency kit she was carrying, "Okay, so you said he'd been impaled with something."  
  
She walked around and knelt by him. As she looked up she stopped, her expression melting, "Oh, sweetheart," she whispered, her voice cracking.  
  
She touched his face gently then quickly pulled it away, moving her eyes to survey his wound. Nathan could see she was looking at his uniform loathingly. The blood stain on it wasn't helping at all either.  
  
She reached down the lift his uniform shirt, then began to rip it away from the wound venomously and for no apparent reason, "God damned military," her voice was lased with the pain of a mother, "All it's good for is getting people hurt."  
  
Nathan decided not to step in. She shifted towards Lucas, trying to get into a comfortable position with the way she was kneeling. She looked up at Bridger, "Would you get me something to sit on, Nathan?"  
  
He nodded and grabbed a nearby foot rest, "Here you are," he said, to get her attention.  
  
She took it without so much of a glance at him and sat on it so that she could get a better look at the teenager.  
  
She looked at the wound, "Well, it's been cleaned. Whoever cleaned it did a good job. Unfortunately, it doesn't help much with poison."  
  
She touched his face and stopped for a moment. Then she snapped herself out of it, wiping her eye quickly. She grabbed a small torch and opened his eye to look at it.  
  
Lucas shifted slightly and groaned, "Sweetheart?" she whispered, "Lucas?"  
  
Lucas opened his eyes briefly but didn't seem to comprehend her. She looked into his other eye.   
  
"You said he hadn't gained consciousness yet?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, actually I'd forgotten he had woken before," Bridger told her, "He woke again after you called but he seemed to remember nothing of the last conversation."  
  
"He won't remember anything of the next few days," she told him crisply, "He'll be quite sick for a while."  
  
She looked at the wound, "I need a sample so I can see what it was he was infected with."  
  
"He.. had a small fit before," Nathan said as he leaned over out of her way, watching her work.   
  
She looked up sharply, "A fit?"  
  
"Uh.. yeah," Bridger wasn't sure if that was the right term for it, "His muscles were cramping, I had to hold him down. The vidlink was ringing. I couldn't answer it. He was in a lot of pain. That's when he woke the first time."  
  
She nodded slowly. Bridger found relief in her reaction.  
  
"I'm going to have to take a sample from the wound. That will give me the best results," she turned to look at him, "I might hurt him a bit, could you come over and hold him?"  
  
Nathan walked around and took a hold of Lucas' shoulders as she prepared the needle. She put the needle into the wound carefully, glancing at Lucas every second or so. He spasmed in pain a bit, but that was all.  
  
She took the vile of blood and then got up, walking over to one of the big cases she had dumped on the floor, "Have you got a table I can put my microscope on?"  
  
Bridger smiled slightly. Just like the good old days, "Sure," he said, "You can go in the kitchen."  
  
She smiled as he led her to the kitchen table through an open door frame and into the next room, "I might actually put him on a makeshift drip. He's been sweating profusely. But I don't want to do that until I know what anti-biotics I'm giving him."  
  
She set up the microscope, "That is, if I can find out what this is."  
  
Nathan was worried, "And what if we can't?"  
  
She looked up at him, thoughtful, "Well," she said, jerking an eyebrow, "We'll just have to make a remedy up."  
  
Her voice lifted at the end of a sentence in a matter of fact optimism that could only come from Kristin Westphalan. Nathan turned around and glanced at Lucas on the couch in the other room before turning back to watch Kristin work. 


	6. CHAPTER SIX

Hopefully some of you will still remember this story. This fic has also been posted as chapter 4 on my site under ELF fanfiction. You can find my site URL in my profile. I would love it if you'd drop by! :) :)  
  
Anyway, when we last left off Commander Ford and the shore crew had arrived at UEO headquarters, only to be told to go and 'freshen up', and Kristin had arrived at Nathan Bridger's island.  
  
****  
  
By the time the SeaQuest team arrived at the meeting room in UEO headquarters, Ford was busting with anticipation, and incredibly irritable.  
  
He had walked much quicker that the rest of the crew. The only person who had tried to keep up with him was Wade, who was keen to please. But even he kept his distance from the irate Commander.  
  
Commander Ford entered the room first, followed by Wade.  
  
"Can we begin the debriefing now, sir?" he asked angrily.  
  
McGath looked up from where he sat at the head of the table, "As soon as the rest of your team arrives, Commander."  
  
The Commander looked behind him irritably. He ducked his head out the door just as O'Neill, Piccolo, Henderson and a meek looking Dagwood entered.   
  
He glared at them, but none of them seemed affected except Dagwood. They all took their seats quickly.  
  
"I assume you have more information that we do, Secretary?" the Commander almost demanded.  
  
McGath didn't pay much attention to the attitude, "We are aware that the SeaQuest was attacked and is now uncontactable."  
  
"Yes, sir. Our main problem is that we were concerned about re-booting our systems because it seems that we were attacked by *UEO* vessels, sir."  
  
The SeaQuest team looked at McGath, gauging his reaction. McGath didn't respond as expected. He looked down at his hands and sighed.  
  
"We're very glad you're alive," he began.  
  
"Many of the crew *aren't* sir," Henderson intercepted forcefully.  
  
McGath looked at in surprise, "I..I'm sorry," he stuttered, "I assume because you are all here..."  
  
"Well, we're not *all* here, sir," Ford told him, "Eight of us left the SeaQuest. There are only seven of us here."  
  
He paused to make a point, "Also, we released escape pods. Four were destroyed. When we left, the bridge was littered with injuries, and the medical crew was having trouble reaching or contacting the injured elsewhere on board."  
  
McGath passed a hand over his forehead, extremely upset, "Oh God," he looked up at them, recovering, "What about Captain Hudson?"  
  
"He stayed with the boat, sir," the Commander informed him.  
  
"Life support?" McGath asked.  
  
"It was forty-eight hours, sir," O'Neill cut in grimly, "But Hudson only expected them to last out there for twenty-four."  
  
"It took us about eight hours to get here," Commander Ford told him.  
  
McGath nodded.  
  
"Mind telling us what's going on, sir?" Commander Ford asked him.  
  
McGath leaned forward, "This is not to leave this room," he said severely, "I'm serious. This is officially under wraps. The only people who know are the senior board."  
  
The crew nodded.  
  
McGath sighed, his head down, "We have a renegade within the ranks, but we don't know who it is."  
  
"You mean someone's trying to over throw the UEO, sir?" Tony asked, horrified.  
  
McGath nodded, "It looks that way. Only, we some of our ships that have got haywire are a result of bribary and UEO officers choosing to betray us, others have been tricked. There's no way of telling which ones are which."  
  
He looked around the room grimly, "So that's our situation."  
  
***  
  
Kirstin listened to her stethoscope, watching Lucas intently with a thoughtful look on her face.  
  
"How's he doing?"  
  
She sighed thoughtfully again, "He's going to be alright," she said promisingly.  
  
She watched as Nathan relaxed in relief.  
  
"We know what he's been infected with," she said as she brushed his hair back to check the temperature on his forehead, "There's not much we can do except wait for the poison to leave his system."  
  
She took off her microscope, "Basic anti-biotics should help his system fight the poison."  
  
"Well that's a relief," Nathan rolled his head back.  
  
"It is," she said, giving a nod as she stood up, "I was worried that we were going to have to give him an antidote or something."  
  
Nathan nodded and the two shared a moment of relieved silence.  
  
"Would you like a drink?" he offered.  
  
She 'snapped out of it', "Oh! Yes, that would be lovely, thankyou."  
  
She followed him into the kitchen and watched him pour two glasses of iced water.  
  
She took a sip as he handed the glass to her.  
  
"How long until he recovers?" Nathan asked her as he beckoned her to sit at the table.  
  
She finished swallowing before she answered, "Quite a while. A few days before he can get out of bed. I think a few weeks before he fully recovers."  
  
Nathan was suprised, "A few weeks," he sat down in the chair more slowly.  
  
"Well, yes," she was a little upset by Bridger's suprise at the length of time, "It's not going to be fun for him either," she turned in her chair and looked into the other room, "Poor dear."  
  
"He'll be alright," Bridger assured her.  
  
She turned back and nodded at him, running her hands around his glass. There was silence for a few moments as each of them decided how to start.  
  
Kristin took a breath through her nose, "So he joined the navy."  
  
Nathan looked up at her, "Yeah," he answered shortly.  
  
She looked at him intently, "How did that affect you?"  
  
He scoffed, "It wasn't about me, was it?" He took another sip of his drink, swallowing angrily.  
  
"Well," she answered, "Of course it was. You care about him don't you?"  
  
He raised his eyebrows, "Well.. I do.." He wasnt sure how to respond to that.  
  
He shrugged, "But.. I'm not his father, I guess."  
  
She knotted her eyebrows, "Well, no.. but you have been a big part of his life."  
  
"Huh," he grunted, "A little too big, it looks like."  
  
"Why?" she asked, suprised.  
  
He sighed, "What did he think he was doing, Kristin? He knew what I'd think about it."  
  
He wiped his face, upset.  
  
"Nathan, have you talked to him about it?"  
  
"Oh, he's not interested in talking," he commented in his semi-sarcastic tone.  
  
She looked away, exasperated, "You deserve each other."  
  
He stopped, "Excuse me?"  
  
"He's not going to know if you don't say anything. You'll just hurt him with your animosity."  
  
"Oh, I've already said a thing or two," he nodded, adopting his reprimanding tone, "He's not interested."  
  
Her eyes widened, "What have you said?"   
  
"Oh.. I don't remember exactly."  
  
"So you vented on the poor boy and then didnt bother to explain yourself!" she stated, annoyed.  
  
Nathan scoffed at her anger, "This is a two way problem you know, Kristin." He waved his hand back and forth to indicate Lucas in the next room.  
  
She spluttered, "Well, you're not exactly working up to your end!"  
  
"What do you want me to do!?" he demanded.  
  
"Talk to him, see how he feels!" she exclaimed, "Do you even know why he joined up? The circumstances?"  
  
"I know it was the wrong decision to make," he scoffed.  
  
"That's the *wrong* attitude," she reprimanded, "It may have been.. but you need to listen to him.. support him anyway."  
  
He was silent as he looked away. She pursed her lips and sat back in her chair, watching him.  
  
"Nathan, you can't just leave this."  
  
"Oh?" He stood up and took his glass to the sink, "I don't think there's really much else I can do about it."  
  
She rolled her eyes in exasperation and stood up, "You think people like Lucas come several times in one lifetime?"  
  
She pointed into the lounge room, "You two, have a special bond..."  
  
Nathan turned away and faced the window so she changed tactics, "He needs you.. and you need him, Nathan.."  
  
She sighed, "What if that poison had been life threatening?"  
  
He turned to face her, "I don't want to think about that."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
He stared at her, "Why not?"  
  
She watched him, waiting for him to answer.  
  
"You know the answer to that, Kristin," he scolded.  
  
She raised her eyebrows, "But do you?"  
  
At his silence she continued, "Go in and look at him, Nathan."  
  
He shook his head even before she finished the sentence, "I don't need to look at him, I know what he looks like."  
  
"What he's going through?"  
  
He sighed exasperated, "I don't want to watch him in pain."  
  
She stared at him sadly, "But... you have no problem with hurting him the way you have been?"  
  
He clicked his tongue, "It's a different kind of pain."  
  
"It's still pain," she told him grimly.  
  
She left the sentence hanging as they stood in silence.  
  
***  
  
The SeaQuest bridge was relatively quite. Nothing looked too different from usual, officers moved around, carrying out their respective duties. There was plenty to do, more than usual even. But something hung in the air that wasn't quite right.  
  
"Simons," Hudson addressed the officer he'd put on sensors, "Any movement?"  
  
"No sir," he responded, "It's been quiet for the last four hours. Ever since we got sensors up again."  
  
Hudson nodded seriously, thinking. He bent his head for a few moments then put it up again, "Dallas? How is the state of this tub?"  
  
"Repairs are moving along as expected, sir. But I'm not sure that SeaQuest is ready for a fight just yet."  
  
Hudson sighed, "She's always ready for a fight if we need her, Ensign."  
  
He turned to communications, obviously not as comfortable with these group of officers as he had become with the standard senior crew, "How are communications?"  
  
"Still out, sir," the officer shook his head.  
  
He sighed and nodded, "Alright, once you get them up, and/or we receive word from our shore crew, let me know."  
  
He turned around to leave his chair when the officer spoke up, "'And/or, sir? How will they contact us without communications?"  
  
The Captain turned around to face him, not sure if he should admit what he contemplated, "I'm hoping Wolenczak will think of something."  
  
***  
  
"So where's Ensign Wolenczak?" McGath asked the crew in the finely furnished breifing room.  
  
Commander Ford sighed, "He was injured, sir."  
  
McGath's face registered a suprising amount of horror as he processed the news, "Why isn't he with you? You should have at least kept the body..."  
  
"Oh God!" Henderson exclaimed, distraught.  
  
"He's not dead!" Piccilo corrected bluntly, "He was just injured. We dropped him of on Nathan Bridger's island."  
  
"Nathan Bridger?" McGath lifted his head.  
  
Tony caught the warning looks from his other crew members and realised that he probably shouldn't have blurted out the information with so little thought.  
  
Commander Ford sighed again, "That's right, Lucas was seriously injured during our attempt to dock for re-fueling at a nearby colony."  
  
McGath looked around the table, wanting more of an explanation.  
  
O'Neill explained, "They must have assumed we were Macronesian because of our unwillingness to take a ride from another vessel, sir."   
  
McGath sat back in his chair and nodded, "Is Bridger aware of the problem?"  
  
"Yes, sir. We had to inform him," Ford responded.  
  
McGath nodded, "Okay.. well I was hoping to be able to discuss some things with both of them."  
  
The SeaQuest crew raised their eyebrows.  
  
McGath explained, "Well, Wolenczak is quite handy to have around in this sort of crisis, and.. well, I trust Bridger."  
  
"You tried to contact him, sir?" O'Neill guessed.  
  
McGath nodded, "He wasnt answering his phone."  
  
"He might have been busy with Lucas," Henderson mumbled.  
  
McGath stood up, pressing his comm button, "Admiral Noyce to the wardroom please."  
  
He looked the SeaQuest crew, "While you were freshening up, the Admiral and I got together our game plan."  
  
The crew stood and saluted as the door opened and Noyce walked in to stand over near McGath.  
  
Noyced nodded at them, "At ease. You can sit down."  
  
McGath looked at Noyce for confirmation to pass on the information and then addressed the group as they sat down.  
  
"We're withdrawing all maritime vessels under the UEO, clearing the seas," McGath announced, "We're also arming several black stealth vessels to apprehend any unwilling vessels."  
  
He looked around, "Once we've done that we can start sifting through the mess."  
  
"What about the SeaQuest?" Jonathan Ford asked him, "Or other vessels *like* the SeaQuest?"  
  
"The smaller vessels we can tow in," Noyce told him, "As for the SeaQuest or any larger vessel, well, she's got a repair crew on board. They shouldn't need too much help from us."  
  
"Sir," Tim said, his eyes mostly focused on the table in front of him, "*Life support* and communications are down. How are they suppose to know they can surface and head toward the nearest dock if you're clearing the seas and not allowing any UEO vessels in the water?"  
  
"Once we've cleared the seas," Noyce indicated with his hands, "We'll send you all back out there to deliver the okay, and we'll have a black stealth escort your pod there, and the SeaQuest into the nearest dock."  
  
There was a pause for a moment as the crew digested the information.  
  
Ford quizzed them on the plan, "Sir, what if this is a tactic the Macronesians.. or.. someone.. are using to lower our defences and attack?"   
  
McGath sighed and the two of them looked at each other, "We've already considered that possibility. Firstly it's doubtful that we'll be attacked during the crisis. It's not a typical Chadoi tactic and the Macronesians aren' ready for war."  
  
Noyce took over, "For extra security, we have a line of black steathers arming the border."  
  
"Geez, you really trust these 'black steathers'," Tony commented.  
  
Both Noyce and McGath ignored him, "We're hoping to have the seas cleared in ten hours."  
  
"Ten hours!? To clear *all* the seas!?" Henderson exclaimed.  
  
"It's a long shot, Lieutenant but we think we can do it," Noyce told her.   
  
He nodded and turned to leave.  
  
"In the meantime," McGath told them, "You get comfortable before you need to head out. We have guest quarters provided."  
  
"What about Lucas?" Ford asked him. Off their looks he added, "I.. I mean I realise he's the last concern at the moment, but.."  
  
"He'll have to get comfortable where he is for the time being," McGath told them.   
  
He paused for a few moments before following Noyce out, leaving the team to sit in silence.  
  
"I hope he's alright," Henderson spoke through the silent room.  
  
***  
  
"I thought you said he was alright!" Nathan cried in horror as he tried to hold Lucas down on the couch.  
  
Kristin stood behind him, holding Lucas' legs as the sick boy thrashed around, "Nathan, he's not *alright*. He's been poisoned. What I meant was he *will be* alright."  
  
Lucas cried out as though he was being attacked by something and losing.  
  
"How long will this last?" Bridger cried.  
  
"Nathan, I don't know!" Kristin called out, the frustration in her voice a mixture of Lucas' pain and her frustration at his gaurdian.  
  
As suddenly as it started, the thrashing stopped.   
  
The two of them held their respective positions for a few moments until they were certain Lucas was settled.  
  
Kristin let go of his legs carefully and pushed Nathan out of the way. She sat down next to Lucas and checked his temperature.  
  
"Could you hand me that cloth please?"   
  
Nathan handed her the cold wet towel and she placed it over the young man's brow and around his face. She looked at him for a few moments and brushed his hair back affectionately and cupped his face.  
  
Sighing, she turned to Nathan, who was crouching down near them, his hands resting on his kees, "You'll probably need to get him a carer for the next few weeks."  
  
"A carer? Why?" he asked her.  
  
"Well, he's going to need constant attention. He should be okay to stand for a little while for short periods of time but he's going to be weak and exhausted for a long time."  
  
"I can do that," Nathan told her in a matter-of-fact tone.  
  
She sighed, rolling her eyes slightly, "He's going to needs someone to feed him, help him dress, bath, give him anti-biotics," she sighed again, "It's a 24 hour job, Nathan. I can't do it..." she paused for a few moments looking at him, cupping one cheek again, "I wish I could, but I have work. So do you."  
  
Nathan scoffed slightly, "I can work from home if I want to.."  
  
"You have a grandson, don't you?"  
  
"He'll be home in a few days from staying with Julie. It's not as though I can't look after the both of them."  
  
She looked at him seriously, lifting an eyebrow, "Won't Micheal get jealous?"  
  
Nathan finally stood up fully, "Well... he might. But I think it'll be good for him. He needs to learn how to share."  
  
Kristin lifted her eyebrows in an 'okay, but I think you're biting off more than you can chew manner', but didnt say anything.  
  
"Okay," she shrugged, "But he can't stay on the sofa the whole time."  
  
"Well there's a spare bed in the other room," Nathan said, walking out of the living room towards the door, "I'll set that up for him."  
  
Kristin nodded and got up, patting Lucas's chest as she left him, "I'm hoping once he regains consciousness he'll be okay to walk with a bit of help. That way we cant get him into a bath and into a proper bed."  
  
Nathan didnt answer as he collected some sheets from the linen cupboard and opened a dark brown wooden door that was adjacent to the living room.  
  
Kristin got her first look inside the bedroom, and the double bed in the middle, facing a large window with white curtains pulled to the side that looked out at the beach and the ocean. On the right side of the bed, closest to the door, was small bedside table with a bedside lamp on it, and further off to the side was a cupboard.  
  
"You think he'll regain consciousness sometime today?" Nathan asked her as he pulled back the covers to set up the bed.  
  
"Here's hoping," she said, casting a glance into the living room, "I can't *wait* to get him out of that *awful* uniform." 


	7. CHAPTER SEVEN

I can't believe it's fully been over a year since I started this. Kinda annoying I know.. next time I'll try to post a fic once I already finished it :) I've been good with the other ones so far.  
  
OH, I must promote my site continuously, so... Mostly Third season ELF and some Slash :)  
  
This is hopefully the penultimate chapter. Thanks to anybody who's still with me.

* * *

The guest quarters were comfortable, but there wasn't exactly much to do in there except sleep, and despite the fact that they hadn't slept in almost a day, no one from the SeaQuest's shore team was in the mood to rest.  
  
So rather than splitting up, they passed the time by sitting together in a guest lounge, making idol conversation and reading whatever was available to them.  
  
They all looked up as the door opened, keen to get out of there and get moving. It was another UEO officer, "We've got the okay to head back to the SeaQuest,"  
  
"The seas have been cleared?" Henderson asked as she stood up and pushed the wrinkles out of her clothes.  
  
"They're clearing. You all need to get ready; we'll be heading out asap."  
  
They all nodded as he left the room quickly.  
  
"Alright," Ford took charge again, "Let's get moving."  
  
As they headed out the door, Tony caught up to Henderson and O'Neill, "Don't you hate it how they say 'asap' as though it's a word? What's wrong with A.S.A.P?"

* * *

Nathan had settled himself into his new favorite chair. It was a fury brown recliner. He'd set his glasses on his nose and absorbed himself in the book he'd been reading before Lucas had arrived the night before.  
  
"Captain."  
  
The soft croak from the lounge near him pulled him out of the story. He looked up quickly, surprised to see Lucas half sitting up.  
  
"Lucas," he responded quietly, as though there was still someone asleep. He put his book down and took his glasses off, clambering out of the chair.  
  
Lucas watched him patiently as he made his way over.  
  
"How are you feeling?" He knelt down beside him and pushed him back into the pillows gently.  
  
Lucas barely resisted, rolling his eyes and groaning slightly with apathy. Nathan noted that he didn't seem to be too confused about his surroundings, which suggested that he remembered what had happened to him.  
  
Lucas closed his eyes before he answered the question, "A little.. disorientated.." he murmured.  
  
Bridger looked at him matter of factly, "Well you certainly seem a lot better."  
  
Kristin came from around the other side of the couch, having been off in another room.  
  
"Oh, sweetheart you're awake," she exclaimed gently.  
  
Lucas looked at her, his blue eyes filled with almost-surprise, "Doctor Westphalan," he stared at her.  
  
She smiled at him gently as came over quickly, watching the way he looked at her.  
  
She sat down beside him near where Nathan was kneeling, "You're looking at me like I'm your long lost mother," she chuckled, but not really meaning it as a joke.  
  
Lucas' eyebrows knotted together, his face cracking with vulnerability. He pushed himself up toward her, wrapping his arms around her.  
  
She hugged him back, pleased to finally be able to see him properly. She rubbed his back for a little while, trying to comfort him just with her presence.  
  
Eventually, the strain of sitting up was too much for his wound and he pulled back, trying to hide a grimace as he lay back into the pillows.  
  
Bridger sighed, "I think it's time to get you cleaned up."  
  
Lucas turned his head to look at him, lifting his eyebrows.  
  
"Do you think you can bathe yourself?" Kristin asked him.  
  
Lucas' eyes widened slightly, immediately realizing his options, "Ahhh," he chuckled, "I hope so."  
  
"Alright," she moved back quickly as he tried to sit up immediately, "Not too fast," she warned him crisply.  
  
Lucas got himself seated, squeezing his eyes shut at the pain the movement had caused him and pushing his hands downward against the sofa.  
  
He remained there for a few moments, waiting for the pain to subside. The two adults waited for him patiently.  
  
Once Lucas made a move, Bridger was up beside him, helping him stand. Lucas wavered on his legs slightly, having not stood for quite a while. He took a few deep breaths before Nathan started to lead him into the bathroom.  
  
Kristin went ahead of them and ran the water.  
  
Lucas looked around him as he walked very slowly down the hallway, "Nice house," he commented wryly, cracking a small grin.  
  
Bridger laughed, "Thank you. Maybe I'll show you around sometime."  
  
Kristin was waiting for them by the time they made it into the white room. There was a basin and a toilet in the same room. Lucas was glad to see that there was a limited amount of glass.  
  
Just as Lucas made it into the room, he felt the muscles around his wound cramp slightly. He winced, grunting with the sudden pain. He felt a hand on his back as he bent forward slightly.  
  
"Okay, I want you to take your shirt of while one of us is still here so we can take a look at your wound, and then we'll leave you alone."  
  
Lucas glared at her, and then rolled his eyes before he complied. He heard Bridger leaving the room behind him just as he started to take off the blue over shirt.  
  
He felt himself shivering as his bare skin hit the air. Kristin looked at his wound gently, "It'll hurt a bit when you get into the water. But just soak for a bit and then get out and get dressed alright?"  
  
Lucas nodded, starting to shake again.  
  
She looked at him worriedly, "If anything goes wrong call out immediately," she coached him.  
  
Lucas nodded at her seriously, "Thank you," he whispered.  
  
She smiled at him softly for a short while before breaking the moment, "I'll let you get on with it then."  
  
She left him alone.

* * *

"How do we know these UEO ships escorting us aren't suddenly going to go crazy?" Seaman Piccolo asked as sat in the back of the ride nervously.  
  
Ford didn't turn around as he answered him, "Because we assume that whatever it was that turned rogue ships, it was something manifest, rather than something sudden."  
  
"So you mean, you think it was more likely the crew were corrupt in the first place or there were moles on board or something rather than say.. the sensors were missed with," Tony clarified.  
  
"Whatever is going on," Lonnie told him, "It would have been something well-planned and infiltrated. Otherwise SeaQuest would have been likely to pick up something suspicious."  
  
Tony looked out suspiciously, "So there's no way our escortees could be the badguys."  
  
Tim patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, Tony. The only thing we've really got to worry about is Lucas."  
  
Tony turned his head slowly to look at him, "And yeah.. that's like, nothing," he said sarcastically.  
  
Everyone else ignored him as they sat back and waited until they reached the SeaQuest.  
  
"Commander Ford," a young Lieutenant called back, "We can't seem to find her."  
  
Ford unclipped his belt and walked up to the front, "She's hidden. Captain Hudson wanted to be sure she was safe," he reached the front and surveyed the screens, "We're in the right area, drop low and flash a Morse code, Hudson might give us a glimpse of her."  
  
The small ship swung slightly lower, flashing a strong beam of light in front of it, as its escorts hovered above.  
  
"Simmons?" Hudson strode over to the command chair, relieved that something was happening, "It's a craft on our starboard, sir, it's flashing a Morse code."  
  
"What does it say, Lieutenant?"  
  
"They're requesting permission to board. Commander Ford's ID, sir it checks out."  
  
Hudson nodded, "Open up sensors let them know where we are." He turned around, "Dallas, accompany me to the launch bay."  
  
Ford stepped out of the hatch and nodded a greeting to the two officers in the bay.  
  
"I wasn't expecting you to bring a fleet back, Commander," Hudson said.  
  
"I know sir," Commander reached him as the rest of his shore party as well as several other officers entered the launch bay, "But we're told it's necessary."  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
Ford turned around to check the faces of the men behind him, "Well sir, when we reached UEO headquarters 8 hours ago we were told that almost a third of UEO marked ships and vessels within our own territory had been firing on our their own."  
  
Ford paused, waiting for Hudson's reaction, "What action did they take."  
  
"They sent out the stealthers to guard the borders and handle any hostile ships while we clear the seas," Ford told him.  
  
It was obvious that Hudson was resisting the urge not to roll his eyes, "Is that all they could think of," he muttered. Ford shrugged his shoulders and Hudson continued, "Not much else that can be done, I suppose."  
  
He gestured for everyone to follow him, "Gentlemen," he turned back and then looked at the crew, "Where's Wolenzcak?"  
  
Ford answered again, "Uh, Lucas was injured on our way to UEO headquarters, we.. were concerned so we dropped him off at Nathan Bridger's residence."  
  
Hudson raised an eyebrow, "Interesting decision, Mr Ford, how badly was he injured?"  
  
Henderson spoke up behind Ford, "He was wounded and infected with a kind of poison," she looked at Ford, "We were fearing for his life."  
  
Hudson was silent for a moment, possibly almost worried. He looked at his Commander, "Is he still safe?"  
  
"We haven't had time to find that out, sir."  
  
Hudson nodded and turned back around again, "Something else we have to take note of then. I'll leave that to you?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Um, sir," the Lieutenant who'd escorted them back stepped forward to address Captain Hudson, "We need to be moving out as soon as possible. The stealthers are waiting."  
  
"So noted," Hudson nodded, "We'll set a course right away," he addressed his six officers, "You did an excellent job; to your stations."

* * *

Lucas shook slightly as he lay on the newly made bed. The smell of fresh sheets nearby his nostrils calmed him. He tried to focus on it and the soft breeze that caressed him gently and flicked at the lace curtain.  
  
Lying on his back, he turned his head to the side and opened his eyes a crack.  
  
Kristin smiled at him gently as she stroked his hair affectionately and watched his pallor. She noticed with relief that the blue tint that had occupied his lips the day before had almost faded.  
  
"I..I'm so glad you weren't a dream," Lucas croaked, his voice hoarse from under use.  
  
Kristin pushed back on his hair again, watching him close his eyes to gain his voice and then open them again, smiling weakly.  
  
"No, I'm not a dream," she told him reassuringly.  
  
Lucas almost wanted to laugh at her tone. He felt a wave of adrenalin speed through him and gasped.  
  
She grasped his hand firmly, placing a hand on his chest, "It's alright.." she soothed.  
  
Lucas gasped again, louder. Then closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath.  
  
"What's that?" he swallowed painfully.  
  
"The poison in your system," she told him, "You'll feel like that every now and then as you're recovering, "It'll feel like you're desperately frightened. Try to remember it's not real."  
  
She looked at him nodding, coaxing him to agree, which he did.  
  
She squeezed his shoulder, "How's the pain?"  
  
Lucas looked at her, knowing the answer but trying to work out how to respond, "Ahh, it's.. well, it's kinda bad."  
  
"It's stopping you from sleeping?"  
  
Lucas closed his eyes and nodded, shivering slightly. He heard her fumbling with something on the bedside table near him, "Well, you need your sleep."  
  
She filled up the syringe in the moonlight and checked it, before bringing it down and taking his wrist gently. Lucas felt the gentlest prick as the needle entered and lay back to wait for the drug to work.  
  
"It shouldn't take more than a few minutes," she assured him in her British accent.  
  
She cupped his face gently, "I'll wait 'til you're asleep before I leave, and I'll be back to check on you through the night."  
  
Lucas watched her gratefully, "Thank you," he whispered coarsely.  
  
She clucked her tongue, fobbing it off and patted his cheek where she'd held it.  
  
"I.. I don't remember getting dressed," he furrowed his eyebrows, trying to think through the fuzzy haze.  
  
She leaned back, "You did. You did very well. You lost consciousness on the way to the bedroom though."  
  
The moon light reflected in Lucas' eyes briefly as he moved his head, "Oh," he said simply, "Where's Captain Bridger?"  
  
"He's sleeping," she told him, "He'll probably come in to wake you in the morning," she told him, half checking if that was alright, "To check your wound."  
  
Lucas swallowed and nodded, feeling the breeze on him again and closing his eyes.  
  
He felt her brush the top of his hair again.  
  
He opened his eyes, wanting to talk to her, wanting her approval, "Kristin," he whispered.  
  
He felt the drug seep in just as he spoke her name.  
  
"Shhh, sweetheart, you rest," she soothed.  
  
His tongue started to relax, "Wheh..Where you mad..?"  
  
She leaned nearer him to hear him, "Was I mad? Why would I be mad?"  
  
Lucas parted his lips ever so slightly, "Th.." he faltered off and tried again. The painkiller was working, "The uniform," he whispered, his eyes closed.  
  
Her eyes looked up at the wall above him as she realised. She paused for a moment, pursing her lips together to keep in any emotion.  
  
She reached under the covers and squeezed his hand firmly, "We love you, sweetheart. Alright?"  
  
She watched Lucas' head loll to the side gently and the soft sound as he breathed through his nose, asleep.

* * *

Several dark objects floated in the blue water like shadows. They formed a diagonal line across the border, foreboding even to the people they were there to protect.  
  
"The stealthers are holding the line, sir," Tim had reclaimed his place at communications.  
  
"Very good, Mr O'Neill," Hudson said, his voice low and commanding, but starting to show signs of weariness, "Mr Piccolo, take us into dock."  
  
The large, spear shaped ship lifted itself towards its destination, bringing an end to her and her crews' unexpected adventure.  
  
"Commander Ford, you have the bridge," Hudson rose from his command chair and headed towards the wardroom to contact McGath.  
  
"SeaQuest is on its way to UEO headquarters in New Cape Quest," Hudson reported.  
  
"Thank you, Captain. I just received that intel," McGath played with something on his desk as he spoke with the Captain.  
  
Hudson puffed out his chest, "Is there any more information on our unusual little escapade?"  
  
McGath nodded, "In actual fact, there is," he sighed, "We had to bring in all our ships and hand sift through the crew."  
  
Hudson didn't seem very sympathetic, "Doesn't seem to have taken you too long."  
  
McGath scoffed, "Oh, believe me, we're far from done," he leaned back in his chair, "So far though, we've located almost twenty undercover agents."  
  
"Macronesians?" Hudson asked.  
  
"In actual fact, yes. Although President Bourne denies everything." McGath answered.  
  
"And that surprises you?" Hudson puffed angrily, "How the hell could that happen?"  
  
"It seems our intelligence dropped the ball on this one."  
  
"That's a hell of an understatement if I ever heard one. What are our losses?"  
  
"Limited," McGath linked his fingers together, "Only three ships," he trailed of and sighed, "But God knows how much intelligence."  
  
Hudson shook his head and ran his hand across his face.  
  
"Its times like these you find whom you can and can't trust, Captain," McGath sighed.  
  
Hudson rolled his eyes, "No one?"  
  
McGath practically ignored him, "You among the list of the most honorable."  
  
Hudson smiled sarcastically, "Well in that case, I'm glad I was trusted with the UEO's flagship."  
  
"Oliver, I'm serious," McGath told him, "That list was very short."  
  
"Who was on it?" Hudson asked him curiously.  
  
"Not many people apart from you and Nathan Bridger," McGath said honestly.  
  
"I'm sure Nathan Bridger had his hands full," the Captain sighed.  
  
"Yes," McGath squinted, "I heard Ensign Wolenczak was injured."  
  
"Do you know how he is," Hudson asked quickly.  
  
"Ah, no I haven't checked up."  
  
Hudson nodded, "I guess that's something I'll be doing now, then."  
  
"Alright, thankyou, Oliver," McGath closed, "God's speed."

* * *

Bridger pushed the door open gently and tiptoed into the dark room. In the shadow of the moonlight he could see Lucas' cheeks glistened in sweat before his eyes adjusted.  
  
He sat on the bed gently as the boy tossed again. He was quieter now than when Bridger had risen and put his robe on, but he still seemed quite distressed.  
  
He placed his hand on the well defined chest and felt his heart beating extremely fast.  
  
Lucas gasped again and he gripped his shoulders to pull him up. Lucas jerked up right, panting as his pulse jumped and he woke up.  
  
Lucas fought against the thickness around him, pushing him down. He struggled on pure instinct and fear. Strong arms grabbed his own and he struggled fiercely, his heart thumping in his chest, ready to burst. He gasped in desperation when he couldn't break free and heard himself sobbing.  
  
Slowly he felt his senses come to him, breaking through the unconsciousness and the fear. A flicker of something that he knew was there; safety. He grasped onto it. He felt wind brushing against his face, stroking his hair lightly. His feet were nestled between soft covers on a firm bed. And he was sitting upright. Strong arms held him while he shook, and a familiar voice was talking to him.  
  
Captain Bridger. How long had he been talking? Lucas tried to ease the thumping in his chest as he realised where he was. He couldn't get rid of the panic. He tried to calm himself, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes. He let out a short sob again in frustration but controlled it.  
  
"It's alright. It's not you, it's the poison," Bridger soothed. Lucas hadn't felt that voice address him gently in what seemed like a long time. He hadn't expected Bridger to treat him like a son again.  
  
The unfounded fear and desperation fled, and then seeped away slowly, leaving a dizzy fuzzy feeling in Lucas' entire body like the aftermath of adrenalin.  
  
"It's alright, Lucas. It's okay."  
  
Bridger pulled him toward him as he noticed Lucas relax slightly.  
  
"I...I'm uh.. really sorry.." Lucas croaked.  
  
"It's alright. It's not your fault. The nightmares are pretty normal."  
  
Lucas panted slowly as Bridger released him and fumbled with the junk on the bedside table. His blue eyes glistened in the dim light and were an interesting contrast to his darker looking skin.  
  
Bridger pushed his damp hair back off his forehead, "You still have a fever."  
  
Lucas closed his eyes and nodded.  
  
"Drink this," Lucas took the mug and put it to his lips carefully.  
  
Bridger sighed and pushed Lucas' hair back off the side of his face as he drank.  
  
"I really wish you could stick around longer," Nathan told Kristin seriously.  
  
She sighed, gazing almost longingly towards the direction of Lucas' room, but mostly into thin air, "So do I," she said thoughtfully, "In a way."  
  
She looked at him, more clear on what she wanted to say, "We all have a lot to catch up on, and there's definitely something in our relationships we want to salvage," she smiled at him, "But," she added, "I think the best way of doing that is at a more appropriate time. When things have settled down with Lucas' injury and.." she looked at Nathan pointedly, "When things have settled down… between you two."  
  
"What do you mean?" he feigned innocence.  
  
She scolded him with her frown, "You know what I mean," she told him seriously, "I know how you feel about Lucas' signing up and so does he. But he doesn't know how you feel about him, Nathan."  
  
Nathan scoffed, "I'm sure he does."  
  
"What if he doesn't?" she asked him, "Do you want to take the chance?" she asked.  
  
Nathan conceded to her point by nodded and dropping his head.  
  
Kristin smiled at him gently and patted his shoulder, "You two sought out your issues," she walked away, "And I'll see you very soon.. for.. a visit, or something."  
  
He smiled at her, "That would be wonderful."  
  
She smiled back, more broadly, "Goodbye, Nathan. Good luck."  
  
"Thankyou," he said, "Thankyou for everything."  
  
She opened the front door and picked up her the overnight bag she'd brought with her, "It was my pleasure."  
  
He watched from his place in the lounge room as she left, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Final Part Coming "Soon" :P 


	8. CHAPTER EIGHT

**NOTES**

So it's _finally _finished. I've posted this up on my website (as chapter 6.. for some reason.. don't aske me what happened there!), but I thought I should also post it here in case :-) If you read this story from beginning to end (although, I doubt many would have), you may notice that the continuity is lacking terribly. Sorry about that. I started it out with a B Plot regarding Bridger's involvement and more in depth story around the conspiracy… but I then I decided I couldn't be stuffed. Most of the ELFy stuff I'd had planned to talk about is still in there and I still had the same ending as I planned and that's the most important part, so … eh.

Thanks to anyone who's still with me :-)

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Even though his friend was asleep and not complaining, Bridger found himself checking up on Lucas' breathing and temperature every ten or fifteen minutes.

Nathan had adjusted the volume on the vidlink, so when Captain Hudson contacted him that afternoon, Lucas didn't stir.

"Oliver," Nathan said with surprised, "I didn't expect to be hearing directly from you."

"You're responsible for the care of one my injured crewmen," Hudson told him.

Bridger could see that Hudson was on the bridge. He could see some familiar faces going about their activities behind Hudson, "I suppose I am," Bridger sighed, knowing that Lucas would have to leave soon.

"How is he?"

In the background, Bridger watched Tim O'Neill cock his head to the side to listen, and noticed that the man didn't turn to face him or get up out of his chair to stand up at the vidlink, "He's out of the woods, sleeping a lot, and still very weak, but I think he'll be okay."

"I'm glad to hear it," Captain Hudson seemed genuinely relieved, "The same goes at this end. The mess is all sorted and the SeaQuest is sailing out tomorrow morning."

Bridger nodded carefully as Hudson to filled him in on the general details from McGath.

"We're shipping out in a few days," Hudson changed the topic suddenly, "I'll be sending someone to pick Lucas up so we can have him looked after in medbay."

"You're taking him so soon?" Bridger asked carefully, not aware of how upset he sounded by the news.

Hudson lifted his eyebrows grimly, but with mild suprise, "He should be under professional care, and he _is_ an officer on my boat."

Bridger bristled, "I didn't ask _if _you're taking him, Oliver, I'm just surprised it's so soon, he can hardly walk and I've barely spoken with him."

Hudson didn't respond right away. Bridger could tell it was because there wasn't much else to say. There was silence for a few moments until Hudson opened his mouth to say something, "Nathan..," he begun diplomatically, but uncomfortably.

Bridger cut him off with a sigh, "When do you intend to be here?"

"Oh-eight-hundred, tomorrow morning," Hudson appeared glad for the change in topic. Although he tried his best, he had never done well in emotionally delicate situations.

Bridger nodded, "Alright, thanks Oliver." He severed the link before the Captain could respond.

Commander Ford let his tray drop onto the table in the messhall, mildly startling his two friends. He seemed to have gotten used to the fact that Henderson and Piccilo were going to hang out together whether he liked it or not. There had been some underlying tension between Ford and Piccilo in regards to Henderson, but the men were developing their own separate relationship, which made things easier.

Tony Piccilo looked up and studied the Commander's expression carefully as the taller man sat down, "Good news?" he guessed.

"I guess so," Ford commented, "I guess I'm just glad this is over."

"Did we ever find out how come our ships all turned against us?" Piccilo asked him.

"Some intelligence screw up," Ford sighed, "Don't worry, you'll hear plenty of versions in the international news over the next few months... or years," he poked his soggy carrot.

"I feel like we missed all the excitement," Lonnie said to them, "I almost feel like we're weren't really involved because we weren't on SeaQuest," she looked at the other two, "As ridiculous as that sounds."

"I know what you mean," Piccilo shrugged innocently, "I'll be glad to see Lucas back here." He looked at Ford, "D'you know when he's coming back."

Ford lifted one eyebrow as he swallowed down some more food, "I'll be picking him up tomorrow. Bridger says he's recovering. I doubt he'll be back on duty for a while though."

Lonnie shook her head, "I can't believe he was hurt. I never contemplated anything like that happening to Lucas. I guess I just didn't want to consider it."

Ford sighed and for moment it appeared he was going to say something. But instead he just nodded his head and stared at his plate.

Nathan Bridger had left the front door open, knowing that he'd soon be in company. Lucas was a lot stronger, but he was still weak. Lucas had insisted on being "dressed" when he was picked up. Bridger had explained that he'd just be sent straight into medbay anyway but Lucas had been stubborn.

Bridger was standing outside when the shuttle arrived. He made no move to go down and greet them. The only person he recognised from the shore party was Commander Ford, who smiled at Bridger broadly. Bridger smiled back, but it never really reached his eyes. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to feel happy that Lucas was going back to SeaQuest.

They trudged upward towards to house as Bridger headed inside, "Commander," one of the medical officers addressed Jonathan Ford, "Do you think everythings okay? Bridger looks worried."

Ford stopped momentarily, "Him and Lucas are very close; they have this.. father/son bond. He's been nursing Lucas for the last couple of days now. We're coming in to take him away before he's recovered. It must be very difficult for him." He slapped the fellow on the back, "Be gentle."

Bridger sighed as he stopped at the door, watching Lucas sit on the end of the bed and slowly put on his polished black shoes. He moved a little too slowly for Bridger's liking.

"You're still not that well, Lucas, I'm not comfortable with you just leaving so quickly."

Lucas waited until the pain from the effort of fitting his shoe had passed before he looked up at Bridger. He smiled slightly, "Hudson won't be putting me right back on duty, sir."

Bridger scoffed and walked into the room, "Oh, I know he won't. He'll probably have you off duty for longer than you'd like."

Lucas nodded barely but watched the older Captain carefully, thinking, "So.. what are you worried about?"

"You. Generally," he sighed, "I just worry if you're okay," he watched the young man for a few moments before he sat next to him on the bed.

Lucas leaned up against him for a moment and let Bridger put an arm around his shoulder. Lucas smiled and sat in thought for a long moment, "I will be now."

/END


End file.
